NEWARK — One house collapsed and three others were damaged when a fire burned through a group of neighboring homes in Newark early this morning, officials said.

The fire began in a two-story home at 340 S. 20th Street just before 2 a.m., and quickly spread to houses on either side, said Newark Fire Capt. John Brown.

The fire was under control by 3:18 a.m., Brown said. No residents or firefighters were injured.

The house where the fire ignited was vacant and in disrepair, collapsing as a result of the blaze. Because of that, it will take investigators longer than normal to sort through the rubble and determine the cause, Brown said.

Four people were relocated as a result of the blaze.Tom Wright-Piersanti/The Star-Ledger

All that remained of the two-story house this morning was a charred portion of the facade, a set of front steps and a brick chimney sticking up through the middle of the wreckage.

The two-alarm fire caused heavy damage to adjacent houses, one of which was vacant and the other occupied by a family of four, Brown said. The family had to be relocated as a result of the fire damage.

The unoccupied house had its siding burned off, and the top floor and roof were badly burned. In the house where the family had lived, flames destroyed one entire side and blackened the interior.

Another house nearby suffered damage to its exterior, but not severely enough to force its residents to relocate.

Firefighters remained on the scene throughout the night and early morning, dousing hotspots and searching for remaining pockets of embers, according to fire officials at the scene. Crews finally left around 10 a.m.

Newark's arson investigation unit and the Essex County Prosecutor's Office were called in last night as a precaution, Brown said. He said it was too early to tell whether the fire was be considered suspicious.